Improvement in bee-hive



A@uiten tetes @anni ffi'rr'.

Latas Param No. 77,139, dated April 21,1868.

IMPROVEMENT In BBE-Hive.

dtp Stlgetule :stemt is 'in tten when what avt mating part ni the sans.

To ALI. wHoM 'rr MAY ooNenRN:

Be it known that, I JA'MESWAS, of Mount Sterling, in tlie county of Brown, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bee-Hives and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,-

- and.e xact description thereof, 4which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to'thc accompanying drawings, forming part Aof this specication, in which-4- Figure 1 represents a sectional elevationof m'y improved bee-hive, on the line x .e of lig. 3. Figure 2 represents a sectional elevation of the same ou the line y y -ot iig. 1. Figure 3 represents ahorizontal section on the line e z of iig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. 'I'.lhe nature of my invention relates to improvements in bee-hives, the object of which is tol provide a hive that shall 'effectually prevent millers, moths, and other insects froment'eriug the same, 'and at the same time provide a hive havinggood ventilation, and which is easy of access to remove the boxes of honey; and it consists in arranging an outer housing, which may be of sullcient size to contain as many separate hives asunay be desired the hives being arranged within'the 'said outer covering, lto stand on legs, the lower ends of which sitwithin vessels containing oil or other iiuid, which will prevent any attempt of -the moths to climb thesaid legs, and provided with a passage into them, the communication of which, with the opening through the outer building, is broken by aA space which will be suiicient to cause the moths to fall down to the bottomof -the said outer building, in their attempts to pass into the passage of thehives provided for the bees, the said space being made too'small for thebees to pass ,through it. The said passage is also made of Vconsiderable length, and per- Vforated so as to prevent theemission of the odor'of the honey or bees, the said perforation allowing the odor to be carried oii within the outerV box, by a-current of air', which is caused by openings made for the purpose,- through the outer building, near the top of the same, which openings are provided with troughs to contain 'cil or other Huid, into which the millers will fall in theirattempts to make the passage through the said openings,

l wherey they are attracted by the odor which passes out of them. The said opening'for the passage of the becs is also protected by an automatic protector.

- A represents an outer housing, within which'the hives maybe arranged ina row on the bench B, the legs of which stand in vessels a a, containing any suitable fluid that will prevent moths or other insects from`clirbing the legs. No other part of the bench or hives confes in contact with any portion ofthe outer casing, whereby crawling insects are cut oli` from access to the hives. The'said outer housing Ais made of two parts, and

' hinged together at b, so that the topportion may swing od from the hives to afford accessto them. The hives 'may be made of a long box, e, and divided at suitable intervals into spaces or stalls, which are open on the front4 side, into which the honey-boxes C may slide. D represents a passage for th'e bees to enter and leaveI theboxes,

which Apassage opens into a vertical space,E, formed in the partitions which divide the long AboX C. into stalls for the honey-boxes, from which space are openings-into theboxes on each side of it, near the bottomiof the same.' Communicating with the said space E are openings through the bottom 'and top of the box C, protected by screens, whereby a passag'efor air is'provided, to admit the proper circulation. The passage D extends toward 'the wall of the housing A, which has an opening corresponding with it, and terminates a short -distance from f the same, so as to leave' a space, the width of which does not admit the passage oi' bees, but will be suilicient to cause moths or other crawling insects to fall, in their attemptsito enter thehves into the space below. Thetop wall'vof the said passage D is perforated, whereby it is designed that the oder arising from the bees or honey may not be e'mitted from the mouth of the passage of the bees, but will rise upward by means of a current of air entering the said passage; F Frepresent passages"near the top of the outer building", within which outer wall of the building are arranged vessels for containing lwater or any other suitable liquid, which will destroy the` lives of such flying insects, as millers, that may fall inte the said ,vessels ntheir attempts to enter these.

passages, to which they are allurcd bythe odor passingout of the same, by reason of the' current of air generated by the heat of the bees wit-hin the hive, and assisted by the colder air rushing in at the mouth of the passage D, and also through any other openings in the Abottom of the house, as at e. f are the passages through the sides of the hives, communicating with the space E betweenthe hives, into which the passages-D leads. These passages f may be closed, as desired, by the slides g, when it is necessary to withdraw the hives. to ,remove -the honey or from any other reason'. It i are the Ventilating-passages in the top and hottomof the box C, com- 'municating with the spaces E in thepartitions between the hives, and are covered by screens. H represents an automatic self-: tdjustingl guard, attached to the front sid-e ofthe house, before the opening in thel same to the passage D, which is madeof wires, suspended from* a horizontal wire secured in'a frame, so arranged with reference to the said opening that the lower ends of the wires may be easily pushed away by the bees in entering oi' leaving the hive, but which are not easily moved by millers in their attempts-to enter. `By the use of hives constructedias hereinbefore described, it will be perceived that very great obstacles are presented to the eil'orts of millers or moths to enter Athe same. Inasmuch as the -millers are attracted to the hive'b'y the odor arising therefrom, they jwill most naturally seek admission through the passage F, where the odoris emitted from the hive, but if occasionally onemay succeed in passing the' water-vessel, it cannot possibly enter thehives; vand although it may deposit eggs within the house,l the moths would first, after hatching, be found upon the Hoor, from which they cannot ascend into the h ive, by reason of the vesselsa.

Any attempts of'moths to'enter by the passage D from `the outside of the house A, would fail, by reason of the space between the side of vthe house and the end oi' the passage D, 'as hereinbefore described. I

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The combination of the box C, provided with partitionshaving spaces E, and passages 7L z', with the hives C', substantially as and for the purpose described, Y 4 I 1. Thelcombination, with the box C and hiV'esC, of the perferatedrpassage D and outer housing A, substantially` as and for the purpose described. ,A

2. The combination, with the box C and hives C', |oi` the perforated passage D and outer housing A, and the self-adjusting guard H, substantially as and for the purpose describedn 3. The combination, with the hives C and long perforated passage D, of an outer housing, provided with the odor-passages F, substantially as'and forA the purposes described.

4. The above specification of my invention signed ,by me, this seventeenth day of February, 1868.

' JAMESWASH.

llitnesses:

WM. LTAYLOR, Jomr KENDnIcK. 

